Hey, you down there! You’ve just graduated law school and passed the bar exam. Now, you’re ready to start an exciting career as an attorney. Hang on to your seat belts, because it’s going to be a fun life.

What’s that, you say? You want to deal directly with your clients and other attorneys from the get-go? You want to be able to decide what kinds of cases you handle and what legal strategies to use? And you don’t want to be stuck doing research for senior attorneys for a year or more until the partners finally decide to let you set foot in a courtroom?

If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions, then I have the perfect opportunity for you. You should consider opening your own law office!

Okay, that’s enough of the 1950s public service announcement shtick. In all seriousness, though, the decision to hang out your own shingle is one of the most daunting choices an attorney will ever make but it is one that more and more young attorneys are choosing to make nowadays.

The recession of 2007-2009 hit the legal profession hard and the minor upturn of late has not made much of an impact on the job market for lawyers. In fact, a research group from Bright.com recently estimated the country will have a 7.3 percent loss in legal employment for 2013. As a result, analysts say many new lawyers are eschewing the time-honored tradition of searching for entry-level positions at big-name law firms and choosing instead to start careers in small and solo practices.

That’s what I did, and that’s one of the things I hope to help you with if that interests you. Even if you’re not currently interested in solo practice, maybe this will ignite a spark that will lead to you taking the leap some time down the road.

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When taking on a new client, most lawyers never dream of having to terminate that relationship prior to the conclusion of the case.

But it happens for a variety of reasons, whether amicably and with the consent of the client or because of divergent views on how the case should be handled, unpaid attorneys’ fees, etc.

As young lawyers, it is important to understand that, even after a decision is made to terminate the attorney-client relationship, an attorney still has important and ongoing ethical duties.

First, a lawyer must continue to protect and advance her client’s interests, regardless of whether there is pending motion to withdraw her appearance. This includes protecting the attorney-client privilege.

It is tempting, as lawyers, to include “everything but the kitchen sink” to support why you should be permitted to get out of a case. But your motion to strike your appearance should be as protective of the privilege as possible.

Therefore, simply asserting that there is an unwaivable conflict is more advisable than laying out any details of the conflict. There may come a time when those details have to be fleshed out- whether in response to the client’s assertions or the judge’s inquiry. In any event, it is best to stay as tight-lipped as possible in the beginning.

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I’ve had a few first-days-on-the-job now and each one is equally nerve-wracking. I started a new job Tuesday and my stomach was in knots (although with the post-holiday traffic, I don’t think I was alone in my anxiety).

I don’t know if it’s true what they say about first impressions, but I’m not the sort of person to take any chances and I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure the first day goes smoothly even if many things are out of my control. Interviews are a helpful way to get to know about a potential job but you never really know how things are going to be until you start and even then, you don’t know until you really put in the time to get into the real meat-and-potatoes of the job. It’s an investment and a risk because you never know how things will turn out.

But mostly it’s just exciting. Every opportunity I am lucky enough to be offered always has so much potential and it’s fun to think about where a new job might take you in the future. I also get excited about the little things, such as how a new job will affect my daily life. There’s getting used to the commute and the general routine of the office, where you go for lunch, happy hour, etc. This new job has the added bonus of being close to where I live, which is something I am very happy about.

I was just thinking that that it’s been almost exactly four years since my law school graduation. To me, it doesn’t seem as though that much time has passed. I’ve gotten some great experience from everyone I have had the pleasure to work with so far but I still feel like a newbie, and I guess I am. Even though it makes me nervous, I always like starting something new.

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I recently discovered breakfast.

I always knew it existed — after all, I grew up in New York/New Jersey, the land of diners, and I am pretty sure those diners did business in the hours following my usual 2 or 3 a.m. visits.

Over the past year or so, however, I have made a habit of getting myself out of bed a few minutes early to make some breakfast. I’ve found that when I take the time to make and eat a good breakfast in the morning, the rest of the day goes a lot better.

When you work long and often unreliable hours, taking a few minutes after the alarm goes off to lay in bed or get a little more sleep can seem like a luxury, maybe the best bit of time you’ll get all day. In this unrelenting war against time, breakfast often becomes the first casualty. It’s completely understandable.

You would be surprised, though, how trading a couple of nine-minute snoozes for some bacon (mmmmm, bacon) and eggs can make all the difference in the world.

Just the physical act of pulling out ingredients, maybe washing a pan or two that you missed last night and actually cooking a meal really kicks your brain into gear. You are thinking and planning by 6:30 a.m. and by the time you pull out of the driveway you’ve already accomplished something in your day. I literally whistle most mornings on my way into work — if I’ve had my breakfast — and hit my office ready to take on the work day.

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As humans, we’re a social bunch who thrive on interaction with other people. By choosing to pursue a career as an attorney, where you ultimately advocate on behalf of someone else, one would intuitively assume that you must have some level of interest in connecting with others. Yet, I know that many younger attorneys are often turned off by the idea of “networking,” viewing it as uncomfortable, forced or overtly self-serving.

However, networking is a fancier word for what is really just casual conversation with someone else over a common interest. In today’s economic market, it has become an essential skill for attorneys at any level, and when executed correctly, establishes the foundation to a relationship that could very well lead to something positive down the road.

It was no secret during law school that legal jobs were scarce. When people asked what I did and I responded I that I was a law student, I encountered the usual look of pity and, from the bolder inquirers, statements like “I hear there are no jobs.” (They were bad networkers!)

During my third year in law school, I set a rigorous goal of trying to meet with one person a week for a brief informational interview or, alternatively, crash at least one “law-related” (open to wide interpretation) event once a week.

Here are the top five lessons that I learned:

1. Practice. You have to actually put the “work” in networking. I found that getting started was the hardest part because I felt awkward and had a small network. But, like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. The more I networked, the more I learned what worked and I began to see familiar faces at other events and thus began domino effect of introductions to other people.

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On occasion, I struggle with a topic for my blog post. Occasionally, it is because my cases and workload do not give me an opportunity to consider a topic that I can really get behind. Sometimes it is because I have an upcoming vacation or event which hinders my ability to focus.

Right now, it’s a little bit of both.

The month of May has been a whirlwind of trials and court appearances for me. It began with an amuse bouche mechanic’s lien in Baltimore City Circuit Court, followed by an argument at the Court of Special Appeals as an appetizer and a bench trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County as the main course. This week,  a district court trial served as the dessert for my cornucopia of court appearances in May.

Much like any litigator, my trial schedule ebbs and flows, and I anticipated this month would be especially busy. For me, the finish line was Memorial Day Weekend, with an anticipated four days of uninterrupted inactivity (i.e. no work).

I develop a fairly normal routine when faced with several weeks (or months) when my workload is crushing. It’s really a balance of work, spending time with the family and exercise during the week, sprinkled with weekends filled with work, spending time with the family and exercise.

But four days off with nothing to do, after several weeks of always having something to do, sounds glorious. The problem? Vacation brain. I start to think about the time off before actually taking the time off.  While this is not a week-long vacation, it’s a welcome (albeit short) respite before the craziness of the summer starts.

To combat this issue, I make of list of everything that needs to be done before I leave and what can wait until I get back.  I get coverage for anything that may come up and tell clients that I will be out for the prescribe period of time. It’s not rocket science, but it just needs to be done.

All you need to do is get through the shortened week, which somehow I did. Hopefully my next blog post will have some sort of epiphany about the practice of law or a tidbit of legal advice.  In the meantime, I hope everyone gets their long weekend of non-work related joy.

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